1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a beverage bottle closing machine being configured and disposed to close tops of filled beverage bottles with screw-type and other caps.
2. Background Information
Background information is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily admit that subsequently mentioned information and publications are prior art.
There are different designs of closing machines for closing bottles by way of screw-type closures, the screw-type closures being secured by means of being screw-connected onto or screw-connected to a bottle-side external thread in the region of the bottle mouth.
In principle, the applying of the respective closure is effected by way of a closure element or closure cone, in which the bottle closure is held until it is applied onto the bottle and which is rotatingly driveable by means of a drive for applying the closure onto the bottle or for the screw-connecting process.
On account of the geometric conditions, it may be desired during the closing process on a closure machine to alter the spacing between the bottom edge of the closing cone and the top edge of the bottle mouth, e.g. in order to compensate for the change in the spacing between the bottom edge of the cone and the bottle mouth that is produced by the screw-connecting operation. In the case of certain embodiments of closing machines, this is carried out by the bottom edge of the closing cone remaining on a vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical plane, whilst the container to be closed carries out the desired movements in the vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical plane.
Some closing machines, that is to say screw-type closing machines and also (crown) cap closing machines, have, on a rotor that is rotatingly driveable about a vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical machine axis, a plurality of closing positions each with a closing tool and with a bottle or container support, which, with the rotor rotating, is moveable up and down in a controlled manner by means of a lifting cam for bringing together the respective bottle and the closing tool before the closing operation and for separating the closed bottle and the closing tool.
The loading of the bottles during the screw-connecting operation is achieved in the case of some closing machines, for example, by raising the bottle support.
In the case of another embodiment of some closing machines, the container to be closed remains on a vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical plane, whereas the closing cone carries out the desired movements in the vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical plane or in the vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical direction.
In some closing machines, both the container and the closing cone carry out a part of the desired movements in the vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical plane.
Some closing machines close containers by a closure, for example a crown cap, being deformed in a malleable manner by means of a targeted application of force, thereby closing the container to be closed. In the case of these types of closing machines also, there has to be or may be a modification of the spacing between the container mouth and the closing cone. The rotational movement desired in the case of screw-type closures is omitted.
In the case of some closing machines, desired movements are realized in the vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical plane by means of a combination between a usually fixed lifting cam and touching elements, which slide or roll off the lifting cam and pick up the substantially vertical, or essentially vertical movement of the lifting cam and transmit it to the components moving in the vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical plane.
A limitation of these types of lifting cam drives is that once they have been manufactured they cannot be changed in a flexible manner, which means that even the smallest changes in the desired course of movement in the vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical plane make the production of a new lifting cam desired.
Another limitation is that these types of lifting cams wear relatively quickly and consequently have to be replaced after a certain number of operating hours. As the lifting cams, usually, are also located in the substructure of the closing machine, a replacement is very complicated and costly, which is also undesirable in practice.
The present application relates to a closing machine for closing bottles or similar containers with closures. The closing machine comprises a plurality of closing stations that are formed at the periphery of a rotor that is driveable in a rotating manner about a machine axis. The closing machine also comprises a container support and a closing tool, wherein, for accomplishing the vertical, substantially vertical, or essentially vertical movements desired for the closing operation, a separate, controlled or regulated drive motor is located at each closing station.